Product Managers: How to work with a remote tech team?
I really believe that the Product team has a central position within a company. This is not a matter of hierarchy, it is rather due to the fact that we work closely with all of the other teams to make a solution successful: with founders, sales, operations, marketing, admin and of course the technical teams.
We collect inputs from each of them to build the product roadmap and manage the delivery of valuable products.
Our commitment to the technical team is slightly more important since they depend on us to deliver features the right way and on time, but in today’s world of remote work, separate offices, companies’ strategy, etc. — there can be many reasons why the technical teams are not in the same office as the rest of the company.
How do we maintain a high level of requirements when the technical team is not on premise?
Let me share with you my experience as a product manager that has had the opportunity to work with several technical teams based in another city: three tips to ensure product excellence, respect delivery commitments and build a strong team spirit when you’re far away from your technical team.
Hiring the right people, is of course the beginning of a successful model, but it’s not enough. By the right people I mean employees able to thrive in their job in a remote context and being able to comply with strict rules at the organizational level.
1. The CTO, your best partner
Good relations between the CTO and the CPO is a must. They should always be able to challenge each other while continuously moving in the same direction. To achieve mutual trust and commitment, it is necessary to take time and discuss the role of each other in the organization from the beginning of the partnership, as well as the expectations towards each other’s team.
We tend to think that everyone always knows what to do, but it’s important to communicate as much as possible and make sure there is no overlap in day-to-day tasks. Once the CTO and CPO are aligned, teams will naturally follow suit.
Topics to tackle could be as high level as product strategy and organization, or as basic in everyday collaboration as planning, tasks assignment, requests format, reporting, methodology and tools.
These are crucial points to address in product management, and they become all the more essential when teams are spread across several offices.
Defining a clear and transparent methodology will drastically improve the overall quality of the product, and choosing the best-suited tools will have a real impact on the teams’ productivity. It is definitely a key point for managers and teams.
2. Use the right methodology and suitable tools
When we talk about product management, AGILE methodologies are always mentioned as state of the art practices, which is quite appropriate as a general rule of thumb. But if you work with remote teams, distance constraints have to be taken into account when defining the best methodology and most of the time, the best methodology will be the one built by your team. You can take the best of SCRUM and KANBAN!
First, analyze organizational needs and team constraints by asking simple questions such as:
What is the level of flexibility needed in development planification? Do I have frequent releases? What is the size of the team? Are they familiar with one specific methodology? Do I have a clear company strategy and product vision? Is it possible to stick to my mid-term roadmap? What is the time difference between the PM and tech team? etc.
The product manager will usually take the lead in this organizational project, but it is absolutely necessary to involve everyone both on the product and technical side. That is the only way to take into account every constraint while simultaneously onboarding all team members on the project, and easing its adoption.
Second, specify which methodology will be the best fit in your situation, as well as the appropriate processes. Everything must be written down and presented to the teams, especially if you choose to implement a « homemade » ScrumBan — mix of Scrum and Kanban.
Finally, choose the right tools to implement your methodology — Jira, Youtrack, Notion, Slack, etc. — stand alone or combined, and when possible choose tools that the teams are familiar with. Keep in mind that tools should ease day-to-day achievements, be the link between the different task contributors and provide visibility on overall project progress. They really are the link between teams and individuals.
3. Establish daily communication
A sense of common purpose, team spirit, gratitude. These are the key drivers that motivate us to give our best for our team and for our company. It is not easy to ensure all employees feel committed when teams are spread across various offices in a country or even across several countries.
The PM is usually « assigned » to a squad, but has no hierarchical connection to the technical team, which reports to the CTO. As such, you should work on improving your relationship with the team as a whole and with individual team members: the better those relationships are, the better deliveries will be.
While product managers engage with different teams throughout the day, maintaining a high level of communication with the technical team is not an option: it’s a duty. This can take many forms, from daily meetings to démos, roadmap presentations, tickets reviews, workshops, etc. But be careful, your tech team also needs undisturbed working slots — preference should be given to the beginning or the end of the working day.
Finally, when possible — if the technical offices are not too far — visit them on a regular basis. This is how you will build and grow the team spirit.
Trust me, even when you feel that product development is running extremely smoothly, you must bring the team together for regular communication and to discuss daily progress.
